I have been trying to figure out how to write a post in support of Hillary Clinton. As you all know, I would have much preferred Bernie Sanders, but that is not a choice now. I thought that Bernie's speech at the convention was great. He has now written an op-ed in the LA Times (here) entitled: "Bernie Sanders: I support Hillary Clinton. So should everyone who voted for me". It is similar to his convention speech and outlines very clearly not just the reasons why Donald Trump should not become President, but why we should support Hillary Clinton.
As he says in the final paragraph
I understand that many of my supporters are disappointed by the final results of the nominating process, but being despondent and inactive is not going to improve anything. Going forward and continuing the struggle is what matters. And, in that struggle, the most immediate task we face is to defeat Donald Trump.While I disagree with many of Hillary Clinton's policy positions, have concerns about her tendency to slide to the right, do not believe that her incrementalism is what the country needs right now and am very concerned about her hawkish foreign policy, I also agree with many of her positions. We should all focus on the reasons that we can support her. Despite her incrementalist tendencies, she is clearly moving in the right direction on healthcare, the economy, education, Wall Street reform and trade. Her nominees for the Supreme Court will be important proponents of getting the money out of politics and preserving a woman's right to choose as well as being intelligent and thoughtful people.
Much has been written lately about how Secretary Clinton should campaign in light of how Donald Trump campaigns. While she needs to point out how incredibly bad he is, I think that she should be making the positive case for why we should support her. She needs to generate enthusiasm to vote for her not just getting people to vote against Donald Trump. If she is clearly pushing the truly progressive policies that she adopted during the primary, she should be able to gain support from Bernie's supporters.
We need to keep the revolution moving forward. We need to elect Hillary Clinton. Then we need to hold her accountable and work to get true progressives elected at all levels of government. This plan is one that I am looking forward to working hard on.
Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal
